Binomials and the noun-to-verb ratio in Puma Rai ritual speech

Abstract

This article examines the pairing of nouns in the type of parallelism known as binominals, expressions of paired words, in Puma Rai ritual speech. Using a large corpus of ritual and everyday language texts resulting from a language documentation project among the Puma Rai in Nepal, we explore the characteristics of ritual binomials and provide a quantitative analysis of noun-to-verb ratios in the two major ritual speech genres (shamanic and priestly invocations). It is argued that the increase of nouns in the ritual language under study leads to an inversion of the noun-to-verb ratio in relation to ordinary speech.